Monday, July 17, 2017

Oman Air has no interest in making a bid for Air India, a senior official has confirmed.

According to a report in Times of Oman, the Gulf carrier's CEO Paul Gregorowitsch said there was "no appetite to invest in foreign airlines".

Earlier reports stated that Oman Air was likely to invest in the Indian carrier if the open skies agreement was worked out between the two countries; however, with troubled times for the aviation industry, the plan has been put on hold.

The Gulf carriers have had an even worse period, with low oil prices leading to lack of travel demand in the region, and a freeze in expansion plans and restructuring.

“There are so many dynamics and we are simply observing them. If you look at what the neighbouring Gulf airlines have done with state airlines in Europe, you see that those investments have been a complete failure, he said.

Oman Air is currently operating more than 25,000 seats to India per week. The official carrier of Oman has 47 aircrafts in its fleet and plans to expand it to 70 by 2023.